Accra Hearts of Oak returned to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Nations F.C. in the Ghana Premier League on Saturday.
A 76th-minute header by Hamza Issah proved to be the decisive goal, securing a hard-fought win for the Phobians.
Hearts coach Didi Dramani made two changes to his line-up, introducing Frank Duku and Gordon Cudjoe for Martin Karikari and Ali Mohammed, respectively.
Nations were also without Emmanuel Annor and Razak Simpson, who are on national duty with the Black Stars B.
Their absence was felt as Hearts asserted control of the game in the first 20 minutes.
However, the Phobians were ultimately blunt and did not produce much beyond Abdul Karim’s speculative effort from distance after 15 minutes.
Nations F.C grew into the game after 20 minutes but also failed to create anything significant beyond Mac-Williams Boateng’s long-range effort just before half-time.
Hearts improved in the second half after Didi Dramani substituted Frank Duku and Ransford Mensah for George Paaku and Mawuli Wayo.
The substitutions paid off as Hearts moved the ball with intensity and purpose, but still could not find a way past the Nations defense.
But not for long. Hearts found the elusive leveller when Hamza Issah headed home a well-weighted pass from substitute George Paaku.
Five minutes later, George Paaku produced a spectacular pass to find Hussein Mohammed and Hamza Issah.
However, the two players failed to communicate, running into each other before Issah’s goal-bound shot was cleared on the goal line.
The incident jolted Nations into action, but their uncoordinated play ultimately set them back as Hearts held on for a hard-fought win.
Saturday’s win means Hearts have won consecutive matches since moving to the University of Ghana Stadium.
It is also only the third home win by the Phobians.
Hearts are now in third place with 24 points, 3 behind league leaders Aduana Stars, whom they face next.
